1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a thyristor having a semiconductor body containing an n emitter contacted by a cathode electrode and having an adjacent p base and containing a p emitter contacted by an anode electrode and having an adjacent n base which is, in turn, adjacent to the p base, and which comprises a projection of the p base which extends up to a boundary surface of the semiconductor body, a projection of the n base adjacent thereto and likewise extending up to the boundary surface, and a gate electrode disposed on the boundary surface, insulated therefrom and covering the projection of the p base.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A thyristor of the type generally set forth above is known from the German allowed and published application No. 29 04 424. In that disclosure, a portion of the n emitter which is adjacent to the projection of the p base extending to the boundary surface represents the source region of a metal-insulator-semiconductor-field effect transistor (MIS-FET) controllable by way of the gate electrode whose drain region is formed by the projection of the n base extending to the boundary surface. When a voltage is supplied to the gate electrode, the voltage lying above the threshold voltage, then a current flows from the load circuit of the thyristor over the MIS-FET into the n base, whereby triggering is initiated.